News Archive (6192)
Amador County – Sutter Creek Councilman Tim Murphy led a discussion on revenue sharing at the Amador Regional Planning Committee meeting Wednesday in Sutter Creek. A consensus agreed further study should follow, working toward a presentation that can be taken around to cities and the county board of supervisors, as an educational tool. Murphy, chairman of the Regional Planning Committee, volunteered to put together the presentation, saying he has the time to do it and he really likes this issue. Murphy said “if you can get the individual cities and the county to talk about this, I think it’s going to save the county.” He said they have to “come up with a plan” because the economy will turn around and developers will want to build here. Ione Councilwoman Andrea Bonham said there has not been interest in revenue sharing on her city council. District 5 Supervisor Brian Oneto said “I have not heard a whole lot of support for it.” At-large committee member Rene Chapman said she thought it was a good idea but it “focuses too much on revenue.” She suggested the sharing of services and burdens, while seeking to place businesses in locations most effective for everyone. She said it could be presented as kind of an idea, and get input from cities and the county on “how this could work for you.” Murphy noted that it was a tough sell, and in past presentations, “most items were controversial to somebody or other in the audience.” He said all government bodies in the county have “negative impacts on our neighbors because we are so small.” He said the revenue sharing was about finding a way to place growth where it will be most effective without fighting over tax dollars. The Martell commercial site “set up the county for the next 20 years, but where does that leave the cities?” He said one idea would be setting up a sharing plan to have in place for the next Big Box stores to come to the county. Murphy said cities and the county have the ability to negotiate taxes and there is nothing preventing us from renegotiating the city-county tax split to benefit the cities. He said that the issue cannot exist without talking about revenue sharing. Story by Jim Reece
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Amador County - Congressman Dan Lungren announced last Wednesday the hiring of Peter Tateishi as his new Deputy Chief of Staff. “I am fortunate to have Peter on my team...I will surely benefit from his counsel and knowledge of local issues,” said Lungren. Until recently, Tateishi worked as spokesman for the Ione Band of Miwok Indians concerning the controversial casino the tribe has proposed to build in Plymouth. That casino has faced intense local opposition for years. Tateishi faced controversy himself in 2007 when he resigned from his former position as Congressman Lungren’s Intergovernmental Affairs Director and subsequently accepted the position as a contract employee for the Ione Miwok tribe. He held that position for approximately one year. Peter Tateishi rejoins Congressman Lungren's staff after taking time off to spend with his wife who is serving in the Armed Services. He is a native of the Sacramento area, active in his community and a graduate of Jesuit High School in Carmichael. "Peter is a tremendous asset and is well respected throughout the third Congressional District. He is a hard worker who is always one step ahead," said Lungren. Alex Lane, Staff
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Amador County - Amador County is currently conducting a comprehensive update of its General Plan that sets forth the policies, goals, and objectives for land use and project development decisions for the next 20+ years. The Board of Supervisors has opted to develop two optional elements, an Economic Element with agricultural policies, and a Governance Element. The Board has created two “stakeholder” groups to review and comment on proposed draft policies for each of these Elements. This review will take place at stakeholder meetings scheduled to be held on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at 810 Court St, Jackson. The meeting for review of the Economic Element will be from 9:30 a.m. to noon with the meeting for the Governance Element being from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. If needed, these meetings may continue on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at the same time and place.
For more information about the General Plan Update, visit the County’s website, www.co.amador.ca.us/depts./planning, or contact the Amador County Planning Department Office at (209) 223-6380. Staff Report
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Amador County – The Amador County Mayors Select Committee met last week and deferred a decision on the 2009 members of the Local Agency Formation Commission for a clarification on term limits. New mayors Lee Ard of Ione, Aaron Brusatori of Amador City, and Connie Gonsalves joined reappointed mayors Jon Colburn of Plymouth and Gary Wooten of Sutter Creek at the more-than-annual meeting. Former Ione Mayor Andrea Bonham said the Select Committee met three times last year because of changing city council memberships, and this year’s committee will meet at least once more to decide the LAFCO seat. Supervisor Clerk Jennifer Burns said LAFCO Executive Director Roseanne Chamberlain missed last Wednesday’s meeting due to a family illness. Ard pursued appointing Councilman David Plank to the seat of Jerry Sherman, whose term would have expired in February, had he not lost in his November re-election bid. Wooten said he asked Sutter Creek Councilman Tim Murphy if he wanted to be on LAFCO and Murphy said that last year’s alternate, Plymouth Councilwoman Pat Fordyce, was being rotated into the position. Colburn said, “it seems to me you don’t want to be locked out for 4 years.” Ard argued that last year’s selection committee policy change gave the city council the right to replace the member if it is from that city, if an election causes a vacancy, rather than allowing the alternate to take over. Ard said he was steadfast on his stance, while Gonsalves said the Jackson City Council had made up its mind to have newly appointed Councilman Pat Crew be a member of LAFCO, because of his experience. Selections on LAFCO will be made at the next meeting, on a date to be determined, possibly this week. The committee discussed membership of the Central Sierra Economic Development District, deciding to appoint Plymouth Councilwoman Patricia Shackleton to the board. If she would not accept the post, Brusatori said Amador City Councilman Tim Knox would accept the position. Wooten agreed to continue as alternate. Story by Jim Reece
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Amador County - In an open letter published in the Amador Ledger-Dispatch, General Motors responded to the outpouring of mail it has received as a result of the recent closure of Prospect Motors in Jackson. Mark Laneve, GM’s Vice-President of North American sales, said he was “overwhelmed by your enthusiasm for our vehicles and your support for your local dealership.” Laneve said Prospect made “their decision, but ultimately it will be up to the dealer how he wants to proceed.” Some community members are questioning the wording of Lavene’s statement, which could imply that the Prospect Motors closure was entirely voluntary. The closure came after Prospect Motors owner Frank Halvorson received a call on Thursday, December 18th from GMAC Financial Services, the corporation that finances his vehicle inventory and the construction of the dealership’s new showrooms. Halverson said GMAC was pulling its inventory because he was “16 days late” in paying loans on the auto center facility. Halverson-owned affiliates Amador Toyota and Amador Chrysler will be closing as well. “We would welcome them re-opening their business and continuing to serve the community,” said LaNeve. He included contact information for Susan Keenehan, who he said works with the dealers in this area. Halverson, who has been working extensively with employees and community leaders, was unavailable for comment by deadline for this story. You can contact Susan Keenehan at (510) 381-4802 or e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Story by Alex Lane
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Amador County- The Jackson City Council approved the recommendation of the Jackson Revitalization Committee to extend 3-hour free parking in the downtown area. The covered meter experiment is part of the continuing effort by the Committee to improve and encourage visitors to downtown. In an exclusive interview with TSPN, newly appointed Jackson Mayor Connie Gonsalves said the covered meters will continue through March 30th. She said the committee is waiting for reports from the Amador County Transportation Commission on the parking study, which is still in the first of four phases. The experiment was originally intended to end last Labor Day, but positive reviews encouraged an extension through Slovenian Christmas, and now the current extension through March. While the City is not charging for meters, they have raised parking tickets from $11 to $24. The Parking Committee is a subdivision of the original Economic Development Committee. Since it is no longer a true subcommittee, it will likely be absorbed by the Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by Gonsalvez and Supervisor John Plasse. In response to a question as to whether there has been too much focus on Main Street, Gonsalvez replied “absolutely not.” She said “a lot of folks think (economic development) applies only to downtown, but we have to look at it as a city-wide plan and take things region by region.” The Jackson Revitalization Committee meets the 2nd Thursday of each month at the Jackson Civic Center. The public is encouraged to attend. Story by Alex Lane
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Amador County – The Amador County Social Services Department saw an alarming trend mirroring the national economic flux in the early part of the year, last week, with early walk-in customers hinting at surpassing the previous month. “The number of people applying is just going through the roof,” said Amador Social Services Director Matthew Zanze, who added that “something is happening here.” Zanze said December of 2008 had a total of 216 walk-ins, or first-time customers seeking some sort of aid from Social Services. But he said that as of 2:22 p.m. last Thursday, they had 74 walk-ins for the month of January, and it was “only the fourth day of the month.” Walk-ins were seeking applications for food stamps, MediCal or cash assistance. Zanze said many were applying for MediCal because they had lost their job or their employers were no longer offering insurance. “It’s been very busy – something that we haven’t seen,” said Zanze. Data comparing applicants in Amador County the last three years showed that monthly food stamp applicants in Amador number more than 600 cases each month last year, including more than 700 in each of the last four months. Food stamps numbered 605 cases in December 2007, breaking 600 for the first time in a month, but numbered 500 or more cases for all of 2007 except for the month of January, up from around a 450 average in 2006. October of 2008 had the highest number of food stamp applications with 151 applications, topping all single-month applications in the last three years from 2006 to 2008. Applications for cash assistance also rose in the Amador Social Services department last year, over the previous two years. The Amador Social Service office is at 10877 Conductor Boulevard in Sutter Creek. Story by Jim Reece
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Amador County - The Board of Supervisors met last Wednesday for a special meeting to certify the results of the November 4th Election. The brief meeting that was planned took somewhat longer when Registrar of Voters Sheldon Johnson surprised the Board with the presentation of an antique County map. The map is dated 1896 and outlines in detail the numerous mining claims from that period. The map includes Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties. It was given to Supervisor Oneto as a gift during a property deal. The Supervisors were all impressed with the generous gift. “This will be a great addition to the County,” said Forster. As for the certification, the Supervisors unanimously approved to make all vote tallies official. Johnson proudly noted that this year’s voting percentage in Amador County was 88.56 percent, up from 88.34 percent in 2004. Amador County has one of the highest voting percentages in California. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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Amador County – A lengthy debate over a request to install public bathrooms at Pioneer Park became the prevailing agenda topic at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. Tracey Towner-Yep, Executive Director of the Amador County Recreation Agency, requested permission to fund the project through Quimby fees, which are paid by developers to help offset the density impacts of development by setting aside land, donating conservation easements, or paying fees for park improvements. The presentation quickly shifted into a debate over the future costs of maintaining a facility in a public area that would be subject to vandalism. “Let’s find a way to present a plan to prevent vandalism,” said Chairman and Supervisor Ted Novelli. He recalled many times in the past when he had to go to public recreation areas and assess the damage from vandals. Past vandalism has ranged from graffiti to the destruction of water fountains with baseball bats. “Since ACRA’s been in charge, we have stopped some vandalism and the rates have gone down,” said Towner-Yep. The Supervisors suggested different options, such as the rental of Port-O-Potties, or a gate system around the field. Towner-Yep shot these suggestions down one at a time, saying a permanent bathroom structure was the “best option” available. Novelli said the costs to clean up public restrooms is taxpayer money. “Let’s make it clear: I’m not saying I don’t want restrooms at Pioneer Park, I want to hear how we’ll secure restrooms in Pioneer Park,” said Novelli. Debbie Dunn, a member of the ACRA board, said the County has time and again failed to follow through with this project. Prop. 12 and Prop. 40 monies were approved in the past but the opportunities to authorize construction of the project passed, she said. Now the Quimby funds were lying in wait. “I’m all for solving problems, but I thought this decision had already been made twice,” Dunn said. In the end, the Supervisors unanimously approved a motion by Supervisor Richard Forster to approve implementation of the project using Prop. 40 funds. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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